U15 FOBISIA Games Shanghai

Last Friday our U15 FOBISIA Games squad set off on their travels to Shanghai, to take on the competition at Athletics, Swimming, Basketball and Football. They competed against six other schools from all over South East Asia and did us proud. Here is a diary of their trip…

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Day One

We all met excitedly at school at around 5.45 am, and eagerly rushed to the bus on the way to the airport. On the 4 hour flight we made many memories that will be forever cherished; we jammed out to songs, watched sad movies and ate food that totally helped us. The weather in Shanghai was over cast, but happily not humid.

Once we landed, got to our hotel and checked in to our rooms, we explored the local area to find a nice traditional Chinese hot pot restaurant. The food was fascinating, we were able to try a wide range of food; pork, beef and fried rice. After the delicious food we roamed around the bustling city walking as if we were celebrities as Chinese people greeted us with a picture and a conversation.

We came back tired after such a long first day. Then we packed for our exciting day tomorrow. Lights off at 10.30 pm. Tomorrow we will explore the history and culture of Shanghai.

Can’t wait!

Jess

Day Two

This morning we woke up at 6:45am and got ready for our cultural day. It was an early start but everyone was hyped and excited for our first day in Shanghai.

After a bit of a battle with the traffic, the bus dropped us off at a famous "spiritual bridge" in the centre of the Yu Gardens. The theory behind it was that the bridge was built in a zig zag and would bring you luck if you walked over it, the zig zag would stop any bad spirits as they can only travel in straight lines.

Once we passed over the bridge, we walked through local streets and saw beautiful Chinese architecture and traditional houses. After that we were dropped at Naijing Road East where we split up to have some free time and shop. The girls went to Forever 21 but realised everything was way too expensive and the boys made the smarter decision of going laser tagging.

That night we had dinner at BISS Puxi, our host school, after which we took another bus journey to centre of Shanghai. We then boarded a boat with all the other competing teams and had a boat trip down the river taking in the sights and seeing all the builds lit up with fantastic lights.

Quickly we arrived back at the hotel and had our final team talk before lights out.

Day Three

Athletics

The first sport of the weekend, Athletics proved to be a tough and challenging competition for even the best of our athletes. However, with 17 medals overall, the athletics team left everyone impressed.

The day started early, and we had to warm up immediately after arriving at the American School in Shanghai. Then, to officially mark the beginning of FOBISIA, the teams paraded down the track, representing their schools, and beaming with pride.

One of the most gruelling events started the games off with a bang… The 1500m. Both boys and girls ran their hearts out and eventually won the first gold and a bronze medal for the squad. Max Jencks managed to beat his personal best by an outstanding 20 seconds, eventually finishing his race in 5:06! The girls’ 300m proved itself to be one of our most competitive events, A and B both winning a medal. Even without being prepared to take part in the Shot Putt, Terry Kwon surprised the team, winning our second gold by throwing an exceptional distance of 9.91 to win. In addition to the 300m, the 800m event brought home 2 silvers with Maika Pedersen and Matthew McKelvie coming second in their respective events.

To round off a brilliant morning on the track, the 4x100m relays took place. The runners took their places on the start lines with the audience cheering from the stands. First up was the girls’ relay. The 100m B relay competitors walked nervously towards their starting line-up however, as the gun shot sounded, they raced towards the finish line with confidence and determination. This resulted in them placing 2nd. As well as this the girls’ A team managed to sprint their way into 3rd place. Afterwards the boy’s relays took place and the B team consisting of Matt, Terry, Tony & Floris, concluded the athletics by taking position on the podium in 3rd place.

Athletes of the day for their outstanding performance and contribution to the team were Matthew McKelvie and Maika Pedersen.

The swimming began after a long and tough athletics competition, diving into the pool , we got ourselves warmed up and ready for the upcoming races . The meet kicked off at 12.30 with a terrifying event called the 200IM . Big shout out to Jacob Bieri who despite feeling un-well the entire night before and day, he still managed to place 3rd against world class schools.

Another highlight was Bion with an exceptional 100m backstroke placing him with a shiny gold medal. Speaking off medals, a team comprised of Hayley, Kiara, Isaure and Kristina had only a couple of minutes’ notice of a relay they had to join, which they confidently placed 3rd in.

In the end, the team managed to win 18 medals in total, 6 gold’s, 3 silvers and 9 bronze medals. Finally, special mentions so to the coach’s athletes of the day for swimming Maika Pedersen, Isaure Echivard, Jacob Bieri and Bion Neo. Let us all congratulate all the swimmers and athletes today and wish them all good luck for the next two days to come.

Oh and let's also take a moment to take in the fact that our coaches have been amazing "energy givers " (thanks for the words of wisdom Ms Webb) and we could not ask for anything more from them ❤

Day Four

Girls Football

We woke to feelings of anxiousness and excitement. The anticipated first match was against one of the biggest and best girls football teams in Asia: Patana. Our confidence grew throughout the game as we began to pass more, communicate more and make more appropriate and confident decisions. This game proved to not only us but all our competitors that we were a team to be reckoned with.

Our new found confidence had a negative effect when we played against Shrewsbury and drew (although they seemed to be the ‘draw masters’ of the day). We then went head to head with the unbeaten Tanglin and dropped our guards in the second half where they produced 4 quality goals.

After lunch we had our last 3 matches they were extremely important as they would determine whether or not we had a chance of placing 3rd or 4th. The match against Puxi was tough; but our spirits held high throughout the match. The 15 weeks of training were clear in our minds as we pushed the ball over the line and scored the first goal. The final score was 1-0 and it put us in a position of definite podium placing. The next two matches were just as important for the placing of either 2nd or 3rd. We won our last two matches with confidence which resulted in us finishing the tournament in 2nd place.

It's a SILVER medal for the girls football team! What an achievement at such a high level competition! Couldn't be prouder 😁⚽️🏅🏆👍 pic.twitter.com/nLtl1wWopB

Aina Solis held the defence solid and allowed all of the attacking players to express themselves in all ways positive to help create many goals. Aina started out on the bench, but proved herself to be a necessary asset to the team and could not be taken off given her outstanding performance. She got to every single ball and closed down every attacker taking pressure off all teammates. A final big congratulation to all people involved: parents, coaches, referees and players for making this experience one of the most fruitful experiences some of us have ever had.

Hayley (U15 C) andLhasa (Senior C)

Boys Basketball

To start off I want to thank all of my teammates for helping me to elevate my performance and helping the team to keep their spirits up. They are an amazing group of players that plays every quarter as the last and with a constant high level of physicality.

Our record from today was 2-4 (2 wins and 4 lost). Even though we didn't win any medals today it does not reflect how good we are as a team, constantly supporting each other. My advice, as an older player, to younger Basketballers next year is to NEVER give up when things gets bad.

Day Five

The boy’s football was full of highs and lows, our team consisted of quality players but the eventual result in most games did not reflect on the effort and quality football that was put on display.

Our first game against Patana, on paper was expected to be one of the toughest games of the day; however, we played fast, effective and good football and dominated for the full duration of the game. Yet, not everything went our way as an unfortunate own-goal broke the deadlock just before the half time whistle. After an inspirational team talk from Mr McLoughlin the team came back on the pitch with high hopes, and our efforts resulted in a fantastic strike from Floris which put us level. Unfortunately, after the goal we couldn’t capitalise on being the better team which resulted in a frustrating draw.

After the game, we kept the right mentality and easily beat Shrewsbury 2-0 with Campbell and Floris getting on the score sheet. Following the Shrewsbury game awaited the toughest game of the day against Tanglin; we defended extremely well and kept it 0-0 up to half time. 3 minutes into the second half, after a lapse of concentration we conceded a poor penalty decision from an unlucky hand ball which resulted in the first of two goals conceded. Due to an unfavourable schedule after the lunch break we were forced to once again play 3 consecutive games, we played BIS KL which ended 1-0 to them due to some poor marking from a corner. With fatigue and cramps kicking in, we played another consecutive game against the host side BISS Puxi which ended 2-0 to them as we struggled to cope with the weather and injuries. Following that game, we played our final game of the tournament and drew 1-1 against Discovery Bay in a frantic but enjoyable game to top off a day of mixed emotions.

The boys demonstrated superb resilience and battled to the very end. Final game 1-1 draw against DBIS ⚽️#bishcmc pic.twitter.com/SVoMpqWj3j

Overall, it was a brilliant, but tough tournament as our performances were largely affected by injuries and extreme weather conditions. On a positive note, I would like to give special mentions to our MVP, Nick Gilmore and our top scorer, Floris as well as our fantastic coach Mr McLoughlin for leading the team to 5th place amongst extremely difficult and aggressive competition.

Floris (Football Captain) andNick

Girls Basketball

Girls basketball started with a tense atmosphere, against PUXI BIS (host team). A determined team we pushed as hard as we could but sadly didn't come out on top with a score of 4-8. The next game was against BPA (Patana) who is an extremely passionate team. The game ended with tears in our eyes.

Hopelessly we stood facing our next game against Tanglin. We were mentally destroyed by a devastating lose. We tried our best but it wasn't enough to beat one of the strongest teams in the tournament and South East Asia.

Distraught we gathered ourselves for another tough match ahead against Shrewsbury Bangkok. The first half was amazing as we were winning 7-0 but we lost our focus a bit in the last half to get a draw of 12-12.

We had a better start after lunch and we came out on top in our two final games against BISKL and DBIS. The team began to gain focus, and momentum. We hit a remarkable three pointer with the help of Hayley's strength.

The team's spirit was lifted as we finished 5th overall. We weren't so happy with the result but in the end we all had an amazing time and learnt so much while working hard and playing as a team.

Special mention must go to Anna Le Nguyen who was named Basketball MVP for her tireless work rate and consistency throughout the tournament.

Aina and Caitlyn (Basketball Captain)

So, that's it! The U15 FOBISIA Games has drawn to a close and after 15 weeks of intense selection and training, we arrived home with enough medals, trophies, personal bests and memories to last a life time. When organising and planning such a big trip, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of the main goal. Our goal had two strands, compete against some of the biggest and best schools in South East Asia and leave all our energy and emotions on the court, football field, athletics track and in the swimming pool. We surpassed these goals and have shown other teams and ourselves what we are truly capable of what can be achieved when people work together.